The present embodiments relate to methods and devices for allocating amounts of energy for prosumers in an electric grid.
The progressive expansion of renewable energies is leading to an increasing decentralization of power generation. In addition, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to forecast an amount of energy to be expected or to be generated because of potentially larger fluctuations in energy in the case of renewable energies (e.g., because of weather dependence).
This change may be taken into account by introducing smart electric grids that have in addition to the actual electric grid a communication network for exchanging information and for controlling decentral units. Power generation and power consumption may thus be regulated within certain limits by appropriately smart generators and consumers connected to the communication network. This is accompanied by an increasing complexity in the balancing of power generation and power consumption in the electric grids. The control of this complexity, and the suitable balancing of power generation and power consumption are a precondition for meeting the energy requirements of the consumers in the grid, and for providing grid stability.
In addition to the traditional power generators and power consumers, there are also new types of participants in the electric grid that may store the energy and also output the energy such as, for example, electric cars. These traditional power generators and consumers and new types of participants are referred to as prosumers. The new types of participants may absorb energy into their batteries at night when there is mostly an excess of energy, and output the energy again at peak times (e.g., in the morning between 6:00 and 9:00).